Why Install an Automatic Faucet

Until now, you would never think of installing an automatic faucet in your home. However, recently they have become more economical and readily available for home use. So let’s take a look at the benefits and an inexpensive option for the home and find out how difficult it is to turn your traditional faucet into an automatic one.

An automatic faucet helps reduce the spread of viruses and bacteria and helps you save water!

You have undoubtedly used an automatic faucet by now. Most modern public restrooms are now equipped with them as well as other automatic devices such as hand dryers and soap dispensers. The benefit to these devices is simple; they stay cleaner longer and do not allow the transfer of germs and viruses from one user to the next. With all of the current influenza concerns and the outbreak of the H1N1 virus, we all need to do our part to minimize the chances of spreading these diseases.

Hands-free faucets can also reduce the amount of water used, which saves money and the environment. They are also great for families with children. They are easy for any child to turn on and they always turn themselves off. They also require a pre-mix valve that combines the hot and cold water before the faucet. This keeps children from burning themselves. None of the faucets that I looked at come with a pre-mix valve, but you can pick them up for about ten bucks total at any local home store or any plumbers’ supply store. If you have flexible plastic water lines, installing the pre-mix valve is a snap. If you have copper lines, it will require a little cutting and pipe fitting.

There are a number of commercially available hands-free faucets for the home and they start at about $250.00. I found a decent looking faucet at Sam’s Club for that price. Before I began my search, I was concerned about how difficult that it would be to install an electrical outlet near my sink because of the need for a ground fault indicator outlet. I was surprised at first to find out that almost all of the automatic faucets use batteries. It does make sense that you wouldn’t want a 110 volt outlet right next to your sink. I got the faucet for my downstairs bathroom. This is the bathroom that is closest to my kitchen and used by all of my guests.

You install an automatic faucet just as any other faucet. It fits through the holes in your sink and requires that you carefully install the pre-mix valve and water lines to ensure that you do not get any leaks. You may need to use a little Teflon tape to make sure that plastic connectors fit together perfectly. To install the batteries, simply follow the instructions on the faucet. I am not sure how long the batteries last yet, but am very happy with the faucet so far! I am thinking of also getting an automatic soap dispenser. I also love the fact that you almost never had to clean them because you never touch them!

NiMH Self Discharge Solved

Several Readers have asked about the batteries I wrote about in my post, Save Hundreds Each Year With Rechargeable NiMH Batteries. The new non discharging ones are the Sanyo Eneloop rechargeable NiMH batteries. I bought some from Amazon and have been testing them for a few weeks.

Eneloop batteries do not self discharge like standard NiMH batteries. After storing two for a week, they lost only 1% of their charge compared to 10-15% for standard NiMH. The Eneloop batteries only store about 2000 mAh, 20% less than the 2500 mAh Energizers batteries. In my digital camera this was about an hour less run time. I have put several AA and AAA into use in my universal remote control and wireless mouse to see how long they last. Standard NiMHs last around 2 months before I have to recharge them in these devices. I am expecting the Eneloop will last 6-12 months.

There isn't much of a price premium for the Eneloop batteries so I am probably going to start buying these cells exclusively. They store plenty of power and will cut down the amount of time I need spend charging batteries. I still have to test how they hold up with higher charge rates.

For my existing standard NiMH cells I am going to continue to store them in the freezer to lessen their self discharge rate. The batteries only loose about 5% of their charge per week, but have to be brought to room temperature before use to ensure they have a long life. Here is a chart that shows how temperature affects the self discharge rate of standard NiMH batteries.

Save Hundreds Each Year With Rechargeable NiMH Batteries

Today's toys and electronics can be very expensive to run. The average retail cost of a battery is around $.50 and devices can drain a batteries within hours. For example, a digital camera can drain two alkaline batteries after taking less than 30 pictures. That is about 3.3 cents per picture. Over the course of a year a Americans purchase nearly 3 billion batteries, leading to a lot of expensive toxic waste. You can cut down on the waste and save money by investing in NiMH batteries.

NiMH batteries come in standard AAA, AA, C, D, and 9V sizes. They hold much more power than a standard alkaline battery, can be recharged up to 500 times, and cost under $2 for AAA and AA. NiMH batteries self-discharge at a rate of 5-10% per month. To keep a full charge NiMHs should be recharged often and unlike NiCd batteries do not have a memory effect. They can be fully charged in as little as 15 minutes. A high quality charger will get the best performance from the batteries.

I use the La Crosse Technology BC-900 AlphaPower Battery Charger. This is a high quality 4 channel charger for AAA and AA batteries. It has several benefits over other chargers.

• Variable Charge Rate - it can charge the batteries at 200-1800 mAh and has a heat monitor.
  
• LCD Screen - The information given lets you quickly know the state of each battery.
• Multiple Modes - Charge, Discharge, Test, and Refresh modes. The refresh mode has saved several of my batteries.

The kit I bought also came with battery adapters. Once I found out about these, my use of batteries changed forever. The battery adapters let you convert AA batteries into C and D batteries. This is wonderful because now I only have to have AAA and AA batteries around the house. If I have a device that takes C or D I just use the adapter. When the batteries need recharged I just replace the ones in the adapter. And NiMH batteries hold more power than Alkaline batteries so my devices last longer with the adapters. Give NiMH batteries a try. They are good for the environment and your wallet.